The Good Witch's Brood
by dragongoddess13
Summary: Darcy Lewis lived her life as best she could with whatever was available. Nana Lewis taught her to make due with very little and to make the rest work in favor


xXx

"What are you doing?" Bucky wasn't really sure where the question came from. Until that moment he had been about as silent as you could be in a building full of warring personalities, but despite that he took pride in the fact that he could get away with saying very little or anything really to anyone.

It didn't really seem to bother anyone, his silence; he was of course a private person as were most of the residences of Avenger's tower, so they were all too happy to give him his space because they knew he would respect theirs. It was like an unspoken, unwritten rule really. Don't bother other people and they won't bother you. Of course, there was always an exception to every rule and in this case that exception came in the form of a particularly sassy brunette, with eyes you could lose yourself in.

Darcy Lewis lived her life as best she could with whatever was available. Nana Lewis taught her to make due with very little and to make the rest work in favor. Moving into the tower she knew she was basically stepping into a cold war zone. Strong personalities don't always mix and while they may fight well together, they don't always live well together. Darcy knew this was a prime opportunity to create a brood for herself, the way her grandmother had done with the commune when Darcy was a child. There wasn't anything better for people like her then surrounding themselves with people to take care of.

She spent the first month of her stay at Avenger's tower introducing herself to the residents through her superb baking skills. There wasn't a person or God in the tower who didn't stalk the communal kitchen when the scents of fresh baked goodies wafted through the vents. She learned each of their favorites and she made sure to make them in surplus, sparing no expense with her secret ingredients.

Next she decorated. Colorful, fluffy pillows on ever chair and sofa, hand knitted blankets each customized for each resident and homemade candles in all the individual spaces, picked specifically for the mood each room should be used to invoke.

The end of the third month she'd been living at the tower, she could already feel her powers strengthening. Potions came together faster, her intuition kicked into high gear, and she found herself feeling healthier; more vibrant.

She was lucky in some respects that most of the residents didn't believe in magic. They mostly chalked Thor's world up to 'Science yet to be discovered', but the fact of the matter was, aside from Thor no one suspected her of anything more than being a bit of a mother hen. They seemed to appreciate that about her and she was more than willing to accept it for the way things were. Occasionally Thor would ask if she ever intended to tell any of them the truth.

"Why would I do that?" she would reply.

"Would it not be simpler for you my friend? By telling them the truth you could use your magic freely."

Darcy simply chuckled and informed him that if she used her magic any more freely she might as well start Avenging alongside them.

Thor just looked at her confused.

"I do not understand."

"People don't see what they don't want to see and vice versa. I could go up to Tony right now and create a ball of light in my hand and his response would simply be, 'neat trick kid, would chemicals did you use and what are you storing them in it doesn't look like there's anything there.'" Her impressions were always spot on and Thor laughed in amusement at the sound of Tony's voice spilling from her lips.

"Incredible, you have it all figured out, do you not?"

Darcy simply smiled at him and went back to mixing calming oils into Dr. Banner's tea.

The months passed and Darcy's niche became more like home with every passing day. And then Steve finally caught up with his long lost best friend and brought him in from the cold. Darcy was nonplussed to say the least. She'd always lived by the mantra the more the merrier and adding the former Winter Soldier to her brood was not a hardship in any sense of the word.

Except, she learned pretty quickly that brood, former assassins who had had their brains electrocuted regularly for over seventy years were much more adept at noticing unnatural happenings. The first time she baked for him and took one sniff of the chocolate chip cookies and walked away, much to Steve's horror. She assured him it was alright, that he didn't need to have a talk with Bucky about manners, but deep down she knew he was suspicious of her. Now to normal people the healing powder she put in his cookies was odorless, but she hadn't counted on the damage that was done to him, heightening his senses the way they had, so she tried something different.

It took her a whole night but by the early light of morning she had a huge black knitted throw blanket with little red starts neatly patterned in. She'd talked to the blanket while she knitted, weaving healing comfort into the yarn. When she was finished she tied it into a folded bundle with a silky red ribbon and presented it to him. She considered it a small win that he looked hard pressed to walk away from it, but that's exactly what he did. Again, Steve sputtered apologies for his friend but Darcy waved them away. It was clear that Bucky Barnes was going to be a tough nut to crack.

Which brings us back to the beginning of this story. After three months, throughout which, Bucky turned down every gift she'd tried to give him, even going as far as to start watching her suspiciously, she had had absolutely no luck in bring Bucky into her brood.

And then one morning, unbeknownst to her, Steve had called Bucky out on his terrible behavior toward Darcy and left Bucky no choice, demanding that Bucky go to Darcy and apologize for turning his nose up at all the nice things she'd done for him. Bucky, knowing that Steve was the only person he could really trust couldn't understand how a man as highly trained as the one boasting the name "Captain America" couldn't see that there was something wrong with the woman. He figured she had done something to him before he'd gotten there and brushed Steve off. The problem was, she hadn't just gotten to Steve, the entire team was at her back and while he knew if he wanted to leave her could, he didn't really want to. So, he decided there was only one thing to do.

He would expose her.

Except she exposed herself first.

Darcy looked up from the exploded bag of flour on the kitchen floor and glared at Bucky. "I'm trying to fucking help you!" she exclaimed. The yelling had apparently alerted everyone else on the communal floor to a potential fight and so like a wave they gathered in the kitchen.

"Why?" he asked.

"Buck, come on already.'

"Shut up Stevie, I ain't talkin' to you." Bucky snapped startling Steve and surprising everyone present.

"Because you seemed to need it."

"And you think poisoning me will help, turning me into one of your little puppets like these idiots."

"Poison, puppets, Bucky, what exactly is it you think I've done?"

"Exactly what I said." He turned to the others now. "How could any of you not have noticed that she's brainwashed all of you."

"Bucky, she hasn't brainwashed us." Steve told him. "She's helped us. You know, just like Mrs. Mayweather used to help me when I was sick."

"Mrs. Mayweather?"

"Yeah, you remember her; you loved her chocolate chip cookies. Even when we were rationed she still managed to make them taste good. She used to send them to you when you were overseas in the care packages you ma sent you."

Bucky was frozen in place, memories of a kindly old lady who owned a flower shop on the corner they grew up on. Slowly Bucky turned to look at Darcy eyes wide.

"You're a witch?"

Now it was Darcy turn to look shocked, wide eyes turned on Steve. "You know?"

Steve nodded and smiled. "Of course, I'm a super soldier. The first time I tried one of your pies that you made for me, I could taste the healing cloves you mixed in with the fruit; just like Mrs. Mayweather used to mix in her tarts when I had the flu."

"She let me help once." Bucky mumbled. Steve turned to Bucky.

"That's right; you made that loaf cake for me after I had an asthma attack. She said you had a knack for it."

"Really?" Darcy questioned and Bucky nodded slowly.

"Hold up!" Tony called out from the onlookers. "Someone please explain this to me. You're a witch?"

"Yeah, Stark, you didn't know?" Clint asked.

"No! How the hell did you?"

"I knew a witch in the carnival. Gotta admit Darcy's much prettier, and her potions taste better."

"And the rest of you?" Tony looked outraged, mouth hanging open.

"Steve told me." Sam told him.

"I've had a very diverse life." Natasha answered vaguely.

"I sensed her magical aura when my powers were returned to me." Thor came next.

"Am I the only one who didn't know?"

"No," Bruce spoke up. "I didn't know, but thinking back it makes sense. The Hulk always seems to quiet down after a cup of your special tea."

"It's a calming herb." She explained. Bruce looked interested and was about to ask more questions when Tony interrupted.

"You've got to be kidding me?" he looked to Darcy.

She shrugged.

"I don't believe this." He threw his hands up as he turned on his heels and walked out.

"He'll come around." Bruce told her.

"So, um," Bucky spoke up. "About those cookies."

Darcy smiled at him, a big bright grin. "If I could get some help cleaning up I can make everyone cookies."

A mad scramble began as everyone pitched in.


End file.
